Is this a thing? I've found heaps of great tracks that sounds like they've been ran through a vacuum cleaner's dust bag before they were pressed to vinyl or released as web.

Here are two examples:

Patricia - Foie Gras


Masks - Vapors

"Well, this mixdown sounds like crap. Whatevs, i'll send it to mastering anways and tell everyone it's super raw underground sound..."

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June 2018 mix

I don't think this low-fi thing is different from any other trend though. Inevitably someone will go way, way over the top without even noticing.

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June 2018 mix

Wouldn't surprise me at all, goes hand in hand with the retro-focussed trends of today, I think much of today's techno sounds significantly worse then it needs to be and it's starting to irk me a little bit. There's just no need for it.

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Mixes: Alaé (Conceptional ambient dub)
AOTSE (Experimental)

Listens:
http://www.last.fm/user/bierheld

Makes me think about the true norwegian black metal.

They vaguely remind me of some of the tracks w__ashley posted.

I've heard a few 'witch house' tracks that sounded like they were recorded on third-generation demo tapes from the '80s.

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Everyone has an opinion. Mine just happens to be a little more informed than most.
Electronic Music Critic: Near-Daily Ruminations Of Music I Own, In Alphabetical Order!

That is rather unfortunate - two very good tracks, could have been great if they weren't so muffled, whether intentional or not.

A slightly similar problem with this, from 2006:

There is nothing unfortunate about it, production aesthetic is an extension of the art-form and I can totally appreciate it. Seems popularized in the Nordic region for some reason?

this thread couldn't have come at a better time because I wanted to gripe about Trancesetters - Roaches, the original mix. it's probably best known for the peace division and slacker remixes, but the original mix is an older jackhammer of a track that unfortunately sounds off with the mastering of it. I tried to EQ it to bring it to life when I featured it in my hard techno mix, but it still sounded so muddy. I have to apologize to those who listened to my mix and heard the muddiness of Roaches compared to the other tracks in the mix.

quote:

Originally posted by MSZ There is nothing unfortunate about it, production aesthetic is an extension of the art-form and I can totally appreciate it.

Great. And I'd probably appreciate those tracks more if they sounded more clean. There's also a difference between "dirty" tracks and those that simply sound muffled.

Thankfully there is thing called variety.